Lifeline
by Miyano Ran
Summary: Tell me, how long is my lifeline? Haibara Ai centric Ai ponders about her lifeline… inspired by the Greek legend, Hercules. Note: Hercules is the Roman name for its actual Greek name- Heracles.


Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan.

As of Jan 8, 2009: A very little Ai-centered story written in between my study time ^^ School's fine… No classes today… and tomorrow…*grins* but I have LOTS of homework to do and there's classes on Saturday…*frowns* but…*grins* it's for my educational future… ^^

Summary: Tell me, how long is my lifeline? Haibara Ai centric Ai ponders about her lifeline… inspired by the Greek legend, Hercules. Note: Hercules is the Roman name for its actual Greek name- Heracles.

PS: I use the three * * * for the separation of scenes… hehe, that's how HopeGrace-neechan does it! Sorry for copying your style, Gracie-nee! XD The three * is just so cool! That's how you separated scenes in your Prince of Tennis fanfic, Ponds, right?! LOL Thanks! ~Miya-chan

Jan 14, 2009: Ahem, I'm really busy with my studies… just had to update this tonight XD

**Lifeline**

The Detective Boys were all gathered in Agasa hakase's house one Saturday afternoon to watch the children's Disney cartoon movie "Hercules". Conan watched it when he was young, so he wasn't fond of it anymore, Haibara, on the other hand, wasn't particularly interested.

She read Greek myths about Hercules long before in her studies in World History and Literature back in America, so she already knew the story behind it. Since this was a children's tale, she knew that there definitely will be exaggerations from the original story of the myth, there would be magic, of course… she scoffed. There would be added adventures and extreme stunts… she mocked. Then, she laughed in her mind. –There would most certainly be romance as well… between an ordinary Earth girl and the star of the show, Hercules himself.

*

*

*

"Haibara-san! Hurry! The show's almost starting!" Mitsuhiko and Genta called out to Haibara who was in the kitchen together, when the "Walt Disney Pictures Presents" appeared on the television screen. They called Haibara again. "Hurry. Haibara-san!"

"It's starting Ai-chan! It's starting!" Ayumi screamed excitedly while jumping up and down of the couch while clapping her hands.

"I'm coming!" Ai called out to them, going out of the kitchen while yawning due to disinterest.

Haibara Ai walked towards the couch where all the four children, three real children and one fake kid, with one old doctor Agasa and squeezed herself in and sat down in the middle of a certain Edogawa-kun and a sweet girl Ayumi with a bottle of iced tea in her hands which she got from the refrigerator from the kitchen.

Genta, as usual, was happily eating chips again. He says the movie wouldn't be enjoyable without snacks… and so he bought a pack of chips for everyone, including the professor. All of them happily ate their respective snacks as the movie began. All the normal kids, Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko, and the old professor, looked at the TV screen with great anticipation while Conan and Ai were simply uninterested and bored.

"_Once upon a time… there was…"_

In the beginning of the movie, Conan whispered to Ai.

"I watched this many times with my okaasan when I was little… I memorize every single detail of this film… It's boring to me now. You…?" He explained then asked.

The three children squealed in excitement.

Ai responded in monotone. "I've specialized in Greek mythology when I was in my first year of high school back in America in my English Literature subject, so I know everything in the story." She told him.

Conan raised a brow. "Your age was…?"

"Fourteen…" Ai responded and with that he gasped.

"You were fourteen years old then?!" Conan screeched in shock, but of course not that loud to let the Detective Boys and Agasa, who were all so absorbed and concentrated in the movie, notice them talk to each other instead of watching the show. Ai laughed a bit. Conan asked. "American high schools starts at 16 years old, don't they?!"

Ai smirked and said. "Was a child prodigy, and was exempted, skipped a few years… and got accelerated."

Conan gasped. "Wow… and I thought I was smart…"

She ended it with a grin. "And, I got the highest grades in class."

"Double wow…" Conan added.

Then, both of them continued watching the movie with the rest. Deep inside, Conan and Ai also enjoyed the entertaining movie.

In the near end of the movie, there was a scene about lifeline. There were three witches under Hades, the villain of the show, who held a long string while the other witch was holding up a pair of sharp scissors. The long rope represented one's life, and once it was cut by a pair of scissors, the person's life would end forever.

"_Let's end the girl's life…" The three evil witches said together while the sharp edges scissors were nearing the thin string._

"Oh no, what is going to happen now?!!" Ayumi asked worriedly, her eyes wide in horror as she was too concentrated on the film.

"This movie is so exciting!" Mitsuhiko and Agasa said together.

"This is even more delicious than the movie…" Genta said while holding up a piece of cheesy fries. The, everyone, even Conan and Ai, looked at him with disgust. "What?" Genta protested, and they all laughed.

"The girl's not gonna die, Hercules will save her…" Conan said while yawning then the children and doctor Agasa got mad at him for ruining the suspense. Ai just snickered. "Way to go ruining their excitement, meitantei-san." She told him sarcastically. "Shut up, Haibara." Conan retorted bluntly. Haibara just ignored him and laughed while eating her popcorn.

The line was cut, and the girl died instantly after.

"Mou…" The children, excluding Ai, groaned at Conan in dismay.

"You said she won't die!" Genta yelled accusingly.

"Why did she die?" Ayumi questioned irritatedly.

"This is a terrible ending!" Mitsuhiko concluded.

"She'll come back to life…" Conan explained. "You'll see…" He grinned.

As they watched the movie, they soon found out that Hercules wanted to exchange his life for hers. And so the three witches were going to cut Hercules' lifeline when…

"_It can't be cut!" The witch stated in frustration._

"_It's made of thick gold! This isn't an ordinary string!" The other witch inserted, her fingers still pressing hard on both sides of the scissors to cut the string._

"_He can't die…" The other witch murmured upon realization._

"_What?" The other elder witch asked._

"_He's… He's the son of Zeus… he's a god…" The witch swallowed. "He's immortal…"_

The three children, including doctor Agasa cheered as they clapped their hands.

"This is great!" Ayumi and the rest said in chorus. "No one will die!" She squealed.

"Told you so…" Conan said proudly with a grin.

"Human life is also like that…" Haibara said while her arms were crossed. "It's easy to end life… car accidents… just one jump from a building… just a stab… drinking a lethal drug…" She looked at Conan knowingly with a smirk. "…and you won't know when you'll die." She ended. She smirked. "But of course, immortality is just fictional."

"Can't you lighten up?" Conan sighed. "Sheesh…"

"So deep…" Ayumi commented.

"Haibara-san talks like an adult…" Mitsuhiko said in amazement.

"This chocolate chip cookie is definitely better than what she said…" Genta added while chewing his cookie with a huge nibbled cookie held in his right hand.

Everyone, including Haibara turned to Genta with raised eyebrows.

"You have got to be kidding me." Haibara scoffed.

Agasa and everyone laughed, as the movie ended in unison with their conversation.

*

*

Haibara's POV

It was nighttime that same day. The same day I watched that kids' show… I never thought this fantasy Disney cartoon would really get me thinking… would really affect me… One part of the movie struck me the most… _Lifeline… _That stupid word was stuck in my head. I tried my hardest to forget about thinking, but it was a cold rainy night, and I happened to be beside the window. And I was alone; at least I thought I was.

I stared out the foggy window, drawing random shapes with my fingers on the condensed window with lots of water vapor on it. As my delicate fingers slid across the wet transluscent glass window, I could see more and more of the outside, although most of the window was still covered with condensed wetness.

I looked outside beyond the window and saw the pouring rain and the swift lightning descending down the Earth from the heavenly sky. _God must be upset right now… _I thought grimly. I heard the sharp blasting sound of the thunder for the third time today. Then, that got me thinking again, when the lightning reflected on my dull eyes.

_What if someone gets hit by the lightning? They'll die an instant death… Their lifeline will be cut instantly…_

I continued to sulk in front of the foggy glass window, my legs daintly crossed, while my slim fingers were still drawing random shapes on the foggy window out of my boredom. My eyes wandered outside, then, to the dark cloudy sky. I neither saw the moon nor the stars tonight. Plus, my room was dark. The rain, nimbus clouds, the lightning, they were all blocking the nice nighttime view up in the sky. I hated it, although, I used to like the rain before.

I guess this weary and bleak atmosphere was truly affecting my pessimistic level. I couldn't help but think, but wonder, but ponder.

As I stared out into nothingness, I sighed, a painful and curious thought lingering in my mind.

_I wonder…_

A tear fell from my face, thinking of the lifeline of Akemi, my mom, my dad… all so short.

I mocked myself, Hey, maybe my family has a curse…

I thought depressingly, wrapping my crouched pulled in legs with my arms as my chin touched my knees, my eyes scanning outside the wet grass outside the window in hakase's backyard. The rain got worse. My feelings did the same.

_How long is MY lifeline…?_

_I'm no Hercules… I'm not immortal… The rest of my family's dead…_

_And I have no shinning hero to protect me… I'm in constant danger… _

I thought it was quite funny that I related myself with a cartoon show before, yet alone a cartoon character. This never happened before… Not that I was aware of, that is.

_Tell me, neechan…_

I looked at the clouds, trying to form and imagine her face using the drfting clouds above.

… _How long is my lifeline…? _

A warm tear left my eyes, my lips trembling.

_When will it be cut…?_

As I wiped it, I didn't know, I never noticed, that someone was watching the whole time.

*

*

Conan stood outiside Haibara's room sliently as he watched her slender figure sitting ontop of her bed, staring outside the window with looking at nothing in particular.

_Maybe she's imagining her sister again… _Conan guessed.

As he caught sight of her tears, he couldn't help but walk a few steps forward, wanting to enter in there and comfort her. But, he stopped in his tracks; he knew she needed to be alone. He would just watch from afar.

_The length of our life is not important, Haibara…_

Conan thought in his mind.

_Even if you live a short life… what matters most is the good memories you left behind… the love you carved into people's hearts… the joy you feel with the warmth of your home… Life is how you live it… How you've lived your life… that's all that matters…_

He smiled.

_It's the quality of your life, not the quantity of it…_

_Live a fruitful life, Haibara… I'll help you live happily…_

**-END-**

**Miya-chan: **Hi! Yeah… that's my new nickname given by Cousin Jeanne! :D I hope it wasn't that bad… It's terrible, isn't it? *coughs* It was hard writing in Haibara's POV, one, because she's really a very sentimental person and her character is well… uh… morbid and sad… and I'm the total opposite… I'm the happy jolly kind of person… not the serious sad type… so it was hard for me to portray her feelings… it's hard to delve too deep in Haibara's mentality… I tried, though. Maybe I should write something cheerful nexttime… still thinking of what… LOL… and second of all, writing descriptive stuff is kinda hard… and the message was deep, wasn't it? Did my story get you thinking? *scratches head* maybe not… I'm still a rookie! But, please review anyway! :D

Started: 2:14 pm Thursday January 8, 2009

Ended: 12:45 midnight supposedly Sunday Jan 11, 2009

Slight editing on the last line, Jan 14, 2009, 6:30 pm, just came home from school


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